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Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Top Ten Books I'd Dig for My Birthday!

I'm a'gonna be turning 32 on Saturday. I have managed to almost completely ignore the fact that I have a birthday coming up. If it weren't for Mom and David asking for a list of items I'd like for my birthday, I would not have thought of it at all! I'm not avoiding. I'm not scared of the number or anything, I just find as one gets older one tends to not pay as much attention. There are bills and house cleaning and meals to prepare. Jobs to find. Phone conversations to be had. Back episodes of Rules of Engagement to watch. In short, I kinda forgot.

But I was reminded this morning when I visited The Broke and the Bookish for Top Ten Tuesday! Lo and behold, Bridget listed the top ten books she wants for her birthday. And I think I'll do the same for the heck of it. I'm always delighted and surprised if I receive books for my birthday. I'm far more likely to bank a gift card which is TOTALLY fine. If I'm so lucky this year, I will use this list to guide my own buying. So here they are!

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff -- I've had this one in my crosshairs for a while now. You may remember that I posted a "Requesting Recommendations" about polygamy a while back. Many suggestions came of that post, but I think this work of fiction remains at the tippy-top of my wishlist.

Astray by Emma Donoghue -- This is one of the only NEW new releases you'll find on my wishlist. I'm more of a backlist girl. But I first encountered Emma Donoghue in her lovely (weird) short story collection of twisted fairy tales, Kissing the Witch. It was only later that I tackled the uber-seller, ROOM. I'm itching to get back to her shorter pieces, and these stories are tied together thematically with instances of characters going astray. Intriguing!

The Birth House by Ami Mckay -- Another product of a "Requesting Recommendations" post on midwifery. This one has been on the radar for a good long while.

Love Times Three: Our True Story of a Polygamous Marriage by Joe, Alina, Valerie, and Vicki Darger -- My work buddy and blog creeper, Shannon, brought this one to my attention round about the time I requested polygamist titles. Apparently these folks inspired the TV show, Big Love. Which I have not watched. But I should!

Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link -- A collection of odd, fantastical short stories. This one first came to my attention back in 2006 after Heather reviewed it. How's that for staying power on ye olde wishlist? I also seem to be seeing a short story trend emerge.

Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Foods by Jessica Seinfeld -- I can attribute the wishlisting of this book to another former colleague!!! When I was complaining about my issues getting Greyson to eat veggies, Katy suggested this one.

St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell -- I read Russell's odd, award-nominated Swamplandia! earlier this year. It was surprisingly pleasing to the reading palette, and I knew immediately I wanted to read this unique collection of short stories.

Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook by Anthony Bourdain -- I fell in love with Anthony Bourdain many and many a year ago and quite by accident. I think it started with a random episode of No Reservations, and that kickstarted it all. I soon fell into his writing with Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour. With No Reservations calling it quits, it's about time I returned to my beloved Tony. It's a scandal that I haven't read this one already. Bourdain is truly the reason I fell in love with food writing and travel memoirs. Thanks, Tony, for influencing my tastes -- both literary and culinary.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller -- This is the random title on the list if you ask me. While I've long been OVER mythology and Greek lore (a side effect of two degrees in English), I cannot resist the pull of The Song of Achilles. I've simply read too many good reviews and can hardly contain myself a moment longer!

Finally, the big, bad mother of the whole list. The emperor of wishlist items. Justin Cronin's follow-up to The Passage. THE TWELVE!!! Note: I will be buying The Twelve in e-book format. Who wants to lug this beast around?